Want a GREAT bass TONE? 5 *PRO* Tips

Bass players are always on the hunt for the perfect tone, but it can be tricky to nail down. For many of us, the quest for better tone inevitably ends with buying new bass gear – more basses, more amps, more pedals… but it doesn’t have to be that way!

It’s time to cut to the chase – in today’s video we’re going to show you the 5 crucial steps to getting a great bass sound.

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Video Breakdown:

00:00 - Introduction
00:35 - The FREE SBL Bass Toolkit
00:46 - #1 - Great Bass Tone Is Subjective
03:03 - #2 - Tone Is In The Hands
05:17 - #3 - Strings
08:15 - #4 - Pickups
10:06 - #5 - EQ
12:07 - Did You Know...?

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[ileutur]

My first bass teacher taught me that its a sin to even think about smacking your strings as hard as Geddy Lee. That rule got into my young head and kept me from truly achieving my sound for a long time. Now I smack away as much as I want

[robwebber]

Got a session gig with a band that plays classic rock and pop, got asked how I manage to emulate all those different tones and sounds with just one bass? I just move my hand between the neck and bridge and alternate with fingers and pick. Guitarist with a pedalboard the size of a small town is amazed! 😂

[paveltalatay]

I can't be the only one who LOVED flatwond-P slap tone, can I?

[AaronZlatkin]

Really interesting point in Tip 3 about how you lose the low end and high end with old strings. I also do film sound design, and if you want to make an element feel more distant in a scene, one of the first things you do is set both a high and low pass on that track, because those frequency ranges are the ones that drop off more quickly to our ears with distance. So when you're playing with dead strings, what you're almost doing psychologically is pushing the bass into the background. Not always a bad thing (context!), but something to think about.

[Supernautiloid]

I'm a new bass player and I just wanna say I'm so glad I found this channel. I've been watching all your videos. So helpful!

[zprep]

Absolutely love you guys, especially together. There’s an undeniable magic there. I’d love to hear more of a tone exploration for various basses, too…MUST include your Wal, Scott!

[MadMagicPaul]

My predecessor in my big band used a jazz, with round steels and always on the bridge pickup. He was a great player but the tone just didn’t fit. Can you imagine that tone with “Shake a Tail Feather” or “Think”?
I went P bass, La Bella Flats, and a mindset of “what would Duck Dunn do?”

Job done.

[minusminus]

One KEY thing is to have your bass set up properly. Frets, neck relief, action and pick-up height can all DRAMATICALLY change your tone. Ask local players where the great techs are that can help you.

[BarefacedAudio]

Having sold (awesome) bass cabs and advised on amps etc to thousands of bassists my top tips are: 1. Set all your EQ to zero (noon, flat, whatever) to start. 2. Don’t dial in your tone solo, only adjust in the context of the mix. 3. Adjust your tone with your plucking hand. 4. Then with pickup pan. 5. Then EQ. Make sure you listen to how the knobs change the sound IN THE MIX. Feel it, just play and let your hands speak! Ugly solo sounds are usually better in the mix than pretty solo sounds. Don’t be scared to dig in and make percussive noises, if they’re in the pocket it’ll groove!

[viniciuscomacento]

this kind of comparison is REALLY useful. please do more content like this! just love it

[xdoctorblindx]

My number one tip would be to adjust and build your tone in the context of a mix. A tone that sounds incredible in your bedroom will, more often than not, sound wretched in the context of the whole band. Bass YouTubers who play solo have done a lot of damage in this regard, because all of that high-end information above 6k is entirely unwanted in the mix but sounds cool and hifi in a YouTube video.

[SteveWeltman]

You two are amazing together and I am thankful for your humor and great content. I love playing my bass (not a pro and definitely not ‘good’ at it) but getting to figure out a song bit by bit is such a sense of accomplishment. Thank you both for the help along the way in your many tutorials and other videos.

[LordEradicus]

When I first started, I wanted a very bright in-your-face tone and always had a lot of treble in my EQ and played away from the neck. I also used to change my strings like crazy. As I got older, I started leaning towards a more warmer, subtle tone with less treble. I also stopped changing my strings that often. My bass tone is still noticeable in a mix, especially if I pause and drop out during a passage, but it's far from being aggressive. So for me, it's about what works for you at a certain point in your life.

[ReasonablySane]

I've been playing since '97 and have played in bands that focused on every style except hip-hop. A few years ago I gave up on "new" strings and just went with flat wounds. It just simplifies everything and pre-amp settings (and playing style) get me close enough so that I never have to worry about replacing strings until one actually breaks. I also do no recording. I do have black tape wounds on my five string fretless and they sound great!

[byteborg]

Yes, all 100%. An unanswered question for me is: What about the tone of the speakers? Which speakers do you use on stage, what confiiguration, which microphones (or DI from the amp)?

[BladeV]

I think one thing that's super important - and which you cover well here with Geddy - is everything plays a factor in your tone and sound, but nothing more than how *you* play the instrument. I've played a bunch of Fenders/Gibsons/various active basses, but my main workhorse for years has been a Rickenbacker 4003 & the amount of snobbery and eyerolling it gets from fellow bassists in terms of playability and sound is astounding, nearly always before they hear me play or in a set. It's only afterwards they normally ask what pedals/EQ I use to make it sound "like that" and then they get hugely confused when they find out I don't really use any beyond a touch of overdrive on my amp.

Dialing in a tone and playing more hard/softly or altering your playing position between neck/pickups/bridge, pick/fingers/slap and palm muting is vital. Sure, you'll get vastly different sounds by punching in pedals or using different basses and strings, but you're missing out on a world of what the instrument can do if you do that before altering your approach to playing. You can really easily set an instrument up to have some crunch if you play it hard but equally sound full and rounded with your hands and palm (and that's before you get into adjusting your tone settings). It'll also give you the biggest range in your playing with a group.

[kennethyates]

Really dig the vibe between you two. Total pros.

[bassdotkid]

my cheat is an EQ pedal. i can mimic the sounds of different pickups and strings; and the Boss one i use has a signal boost and cut which is awesome so i can increase my volume without bringing more cabs. (all my basses are active with D'Addario nickels.).

[miniyodadude]

Ive been playing bass for about 13 years now, and i wouldnt say im strong in theory or sight reading or playing new stuff on demand, but i discovered that my control over my tone is a lot better, than i give it credit for and its very interesting that that is what improved the most over those 13 years

[SO-ymzs]

One thing frequently glossed over that has a huge effect on tone: not just pick technique (where, how hard, plucking versus dragging through a string), but the type of pick. Different gauges can radically alter your tone from bright and springy to round and mellow. It's a small thing that can make your bass sound very, very different.